News and reviews of made on Maui products and Maui-based companies and success stories. Also featuring island shopping guides

Inspiration for new blog posts come from everywhere… meeting new people, shopping through our local boutiques, or in the case of this post, simply scrolling through Facebook. I have no idea how these pictures originally appeared on my feed (through the magic of Facebook!) but when I saw these stunning, handmade leather bags, I just had to investigate further!

Gillian Adamo of Bags by Gscoutshares her story of how she learned about leather work, taught herself how to make bags, and then combined her lifelong skills as a healer to create custom bags, along with her daughter and partner Cheyenne, with just a bit of something special….

One of the original bags, twenty years old!

“Twenty five years ago I was traveling in Nepal, a girl walking down the dusty streets of Kathmandu caught my eye. She looked like a wild gypsy girl and she had this amazing braided leather necklace on. I asked her about it and she said she made it and that she sold them. I asked her if I could buy one from her and she said “No, I’ll teach you how to make it”!!

“She invited myself and my boyfriend to come and stay with her in her home on a lake in a town at the base of the Himalayas. Over a period of 3 weeks, she taught me numerous techniques in leather braid work.

“After returning home to Canada I got the idea to make leather bags. I created designs in my mind for bags and stitched them into form with the stitches I had been taught in Nepal. My craft was born. I created leather bags in Canada for the following 3 years. Then I moved to Maui to raise my daughter. I put my bags to the side and 20 years later my daughter asked me to make her a bag. I did, I posted a picture of it and I got 5 requests for bags… Gscout begins!!!

Smoke Colored Deer Skin Leather

Red Leather Bag

The most popular design – lots of fringe!

“This has been a full time job for me, alongside the healing work that I have been doing throughout my life. They go hand in hand as the healing energy I work with also goes in to every one of these bags. I like to say that people ‘carry a feeling’ with them when they carry our bags. Its the feeling I generate through my healing work.

Solid silver hand pounded ring on strap

“Each bag is handmade with no electricity or machines, using genuine Italian & Spanish leathers and deer skin from Alaska. My daughter, Cheyenne Jagger, works along side me. Before we joined forces, she acquired a knack for goldsmith skills and became a jeweler of fine metals and stones. In our Gscout Bags, Cheyenne creates solid silver hand-pounded rings for our strap attachments, adding one more level of refinement to these creations. Many of the Gscout bags are made to order so as our clients may have a bag perfectly fit to the individuals tastes and needs.

Cheyenne and Gillian

Cheyenne Jagger

a new creation…

A custom leather bag in the making…

The custom bag for Christine McVie

“Mick Fleetwood’s girlfriend commissioned a bag for him, and she gave me a few little trinket treasures of his that I attached to the pouch. She also gave me a cool skeleton key that had special significance between the two of them and I added that to the inside pocket of her bag. A year later, Mick commissioned a bag as a gift for Christine McVie —> (Christine’s clutch got cool sexy lines to match her cool rock and roll persona), then the next year he bought his girlfriend one of my bags. I made Krishna Das a bag, and I added a vintage Indian coin since India is so deeply in his heart. I’m making something for Gretchen Rhodes, who sings with Kenny Chesney. Gretchen’s bag is going to be earthy and sexy and solid just like her.”

If you have lots of goat milk handy, but dislike that taste of it, what’s a girl to do? This was the dilemma that Rebecca Woodburn-Rist faced, which was answered by lots and lots of ice cream and caramel, and a whole new enterprise! Rebecca is now making caramel sauce out of goat’s milk as well as cow’s milk, with flavors including vanilla, cinnamon and coffee, and is selling it at retail locations across the island! I’m also a sucker for the sweet and creamy deliciousness, so check out what’s happening at Haleakala Creamery!

Maui Made: How did you learn how to make caramel?

Rebecca: ​I taught myself how to make caramel after reading about traditionally made goat’s milk caramel (cajeta) because I had a surplus of milk. It took a lot of trial batches to find the right balance of sweetness and silky texture. The cow’s milk caramel cooks a bit differently and I have had to experiment with different ratios of milk and sugar to get the right texture. I started making caramel​ in the spring of 2013 after a year of making my own goat’s milk ice cream​.

Haleakala Creamery offers goat and cow milk Caramel in different flavors at the Upcountry Farmers Market and retail locations around Maui.

Rebecca with a baby goat!

MM: Where do you make your caramel now?

R: ​I use the Lokahi ​Kitchen in Wailuku. It has been a huge help having a kitchen available to rent so that I could start wholesaling my products. We are currently in the permitting/design process for our own facility to be built on the new farm property.

Goat milk ice cream is also served up on Saturdays at the Upcountry Farmer’s Market if you make it up there early!

MM: Where do you get your goat and cow milk?

​R: My cow’s milk comes from Island Dairy on the big island under the Hawaii’s Fresh label, they are one of the last commercial dairies operating in the state of Hawaii​. We are in the process of building our own micro dairy facility and will begin using all of our own goat’s milk as soon as it is certified. Until then I am using Summerhill goat’s milk from California.

MM: What’s the hardest thing of having a business on Maui?

​​R: The cost of land on Maui is very high and for a startup farming venture it can be very prohibitive. The islands also have a very small gene pool of dairy goats and I had to fly in a buck (male breeding goat) from Arizona to improve my herd.

R: ​It’s all the cute goat pictures! By connecting with other farms on Instagram I noticed what types of pictures people like to see and how they respond to them. The great thing is that I have connected and become friends with so many of my Instagram followers and I am always excited when someone introduces themselves in real life!

MM: What’s next for Haleakala Creamery?

R: ​I am currently working on spreading my caramel sauce to new retail locations. My caramel is being reviewed by Whole Foods as a new product so fingers crossed that goes well.​ Within the next year we plan to be in our own dairy and kitchen facility​. I am experimenting with chewy goat’s milk caramel candies and hope to be able to retail those soon.

MM: Tell us a little bit about yourself:

R: ​I grew up in Victoria, BC but I have family that live in Hawaii. My sisters grew up on the big island and Hawaii always felt like my second home. I became a resident in 2001, I love living in the islands. Growing up my family owned a horse drawn carriage business and I continue to ride and work with horses. My husband and I just welcomed our newborn son about 3.5 months ago and I have been juggling goat chores, caramel cooking and baby raising. I couldn’t do it without Dylan! I love growing our own food and knowing where all the ingredients came from. By making a caramel with local ingredients I get to do two things I am passionate about – Promote local food and care for a herd of dairy goats.

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Mahalo to Rebecca for chatting with us about her exciting new products!

Once upon a time, two chicks were hanging out in a hammock. Today, Michelle Jones and Katherine Crosby are taking over the island with their Backyard Juice, Hawaiian Salt, Hawaiian Chili Pepper Pickles, Bread and Butter Pickles and Dill Pickles and even a new food booth!

Backyard Juice Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water is the original product fromTwo Chicks in a Hammock, and according to their website, it’s their version of traditional Hawaiian chili pepper water. “It goes well on all kinds of fish, dried, cooked or raw, grilled steak, grilled veggies, noodles, seafood such as shrimp, opihis (limpits) and oysters, as a marinade for any protein, including tofu, as well as in stir-fry’s or on eggs or rice to add a kick of spiciness. Our chili water is made on Maui from mostly all local ingredients and sold in locally made bottles.” In 2014, they also unveiled a gluten and preservative-free version made with non-GMO, low sodium San-J brand tamari that sells at natural food stores.

I kept hearing about Two Chicks at last month’s Startup Weekendwith the Waikapu Pickle Team (more on that one later) – “Those ladies are killing it!” I heard. “I think they’ve even quit their jobs!” was the rumor… turns out that’s only half true… And they were kind enough to donate to my basket of Made on Maui items for the Carden Jamboree, so yes, it was time to the Two Chicks blog post.

So here it is…

Maui Made: There’s a rumor going around that you’ve quit your jobs and this is now your full time gig… any truth to that? Michelle Jones: It is my full time job as of December 2014. Kat is still working for the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. I was a case coordinator for Easter Seals Hawaii before this. We started this company in January of 2013 and bottled our first round of Backyard Juice Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water (the original recipe) in June 2013. It just got to the point where I was working on Two Chicks stuff until 10 at night and I had to take the risk and do this full time.

MM: Tell me more about the new food booth!MJ: We started our Pork, Chicks N’ Picks food booth in December 2014 selling our smoke pork, rosemary chicken, spicy, dill and bread n butter pickles, seasoning salt and Backyard Juice. We are at the swap meet, Kihei 4th Friday, the Ag Festival, and various concerts and festivals. Soon we will have a set roadside spot each week as well. It is going well. People are getting to know us and come back to tell us how much they enjoy the food. We are also offering our smoke meat, rosemary chicken, pickles and garlic brussel sprouts for parties in advance!

MM: What’s the hardest part of running a small business in Maui?

MJ: I would say that shipping costs from Oahu and back is the worst thing. Having our printing done locally costs more than it would on the mainland but we strive to use all local businesses when we can’t do something so that is one of the hardest things financially. There are lots of rules when making food for stores and the public and you have to be super on it to make sure everything is done legally and safe.

MJ: We had a great experience at the Made in Maui festival last year as well as the Made In Hawaii festival on Oahu. Great exposure to local people and tourists as well and a great chance to talk with store reps and distributors. Yes, we are going again this year! I would recommend any local company to attend because of the exposure and sale opportunities.

MM: What’s next for Two Chicks?

MJ: Getting into more and more stores with our products now that we have a distributor. We won Second Place for our Hawaiian Chili Pepper Salt at the Ag Fest and will soon be selling our salt, pickles and Backyard Juice to stores and restaurants wholesale. Our food cart will be going full time (probably Tuesday-Friday) in Haiku in the next month or so. We just got accepted into Foodland and Safeway statewide so will be delivering to them this month. At that point we will be in 92 stores all together.

Kat and Michelle win Second Place at the Maui Ag Festival 2015 for their Hawaiian Chili Pepper Salt Recipe

2016 Update: I’m hoping to head up to Makawao to scope out all the new stores and coffee shops, but wanted to mention that one of the owners of the beloved brand Queen Bee Productions has just opened her own salon in Makawao, The Honey House, featuring waxing, facials and more! Located just about Droplets., across the street from Casanova.

You know something special is happening when driftwood washes ashore and makes it all the way up the hill to Makawao. And you know it’s something extra special when that DRIFTWOOD turns out to be a brand new boutique by the force behind Paragon Salon, Carrie Gebb. The women’s and home goods shop enjoyed its soft opening on April 30, but the official grand opening will be Sunday, May 3 with 10% off purchases and fun surprises all day.

According to their website, “DRIFTWOOD features carefully curated merchandise for the distinguished buyer, encompassing all that a Maui lifestyle has to offer from the mountain to the sea. We feature women’s clothing and accessories, all-natural beauty products, as well as home goods and edibles.” Their website is worth a look just by itself, with swoon-worthy photographs and an impressive and extensive selection of labels. But I’m not the style expert, if you want to get the scoop from a real fashionista, head on over to mauishopgirl.com to check out her take!

These reversible dresses by SewHiKai are designed to be comfortable, even for girls with sensitivity issues!

And now for the rest of the news from Makawao:

Across the street from DRIFTWOOD, children’s consignment and boutique droplets.is celebrating its first anniversary, and has turned into THE place to buy children’s gifts and clothes, with an ever-growing selection of locally made children’s clothes, including one of our favorites, bitty bambu, and these darling reversible dresses by SewHiKai ——–>, made specifically for children with sensitivity issues (why am I only learning about these now!!!)

And speaking of art galleries, after several years, Kirsten Bunneyclosed down her gallery, but I believe you can still contact her about purchasing art through her website. In the former gallery’s place is now Crystal Harmonics (you may have also seen them on Kauai), with some amazing ‘singing’ crystal bowls! According to the owners, who also offer sound healing, “the singing alchemy bowls are made of the highest grade pure crystal quartz blended with gemstones or other mineral elements. The sine waves of their sound are clear, consistent and sustained and amplify the essence of the minerals as well as expressing their note.” You have to check this place out – you have to HEAR it to believe it, or they have some samples to listen on their website!

In the building just behind Crystal Harmonics, Vanity Salon has been sold and renamed Jewel Salon, but if you are looking for any of the Vanity ladies, Jeffie is now at Haleakala Hair Lounge, (right above DRIFTWOOD), Sara and Trisha are atBeauty Barin Wailuku, and Kourtney is at Salon Tiare in Haiku.

And another cute store that’s new-ish to Makawao is the ‘brother’ store to Pink by Nature– Homme by Nature, which has things for men (get it? Homme means man in French) and home (and some cute kids stuff too).

What’s your favorite place to check out in Makawao?

And a few more pictures from our beautiful day shooting around Makawao…

cute flower shop sign!

designing wahine / sitting men

home to the wind chimes – goodies

the new location of the makawao history museum on Baldwin avenue

beautiful succulents

the world’s (or at least makawao’s) greatest collection of wind chimes at Goodies

Summer is rapidly approaching, which means 8 weeks (or more!) of “I’m BORED!” coming from the kids (or maybe even your spouse…) so I’ve put together a Summer Survival Guide of 25* things to do on Maui with Kids… (*more may be added – feel free to add your suggestions!)

Horse Around Upcountry – Do NOT miss (5) Makawao’s Fourth of July Parade and Rodeo. Maui Roping Club presents the 60th annual Makawao Rodeo, July 2 – 5, 2015 – the largest rodeo in Hawai‘i with more than 350 cowboys from all over the world. Parade starts at 9am Saturday, July 4.

Free / Cheap Fun

Who needs a zoo when you have an awesome Humane Society?

Pretend its Winter – It’s hot… but it’s still pretty cool atop (9) Haleakala… pack your jackets, fill up the thermos with hot chocolate and head up the hill. You could even sing Christmas carols if you are really feeling wacky.

Pretend we have a Zoo – Check out the animals at the (10) Maui Humane Society! Besides the cuddly kitties and cute puppies, they have a huge tortoise and miscellaneous pocket pets. Open daily 11am – 4pm. But remember, this one is only FREE if you don’t go home with anything…

Head Under Water – Is this the summer when you finally teach the kids (11) how to snorkel?

Get Muddy – (13) Bike Park Maui has something for all ages, from a tiny tot track to miles of dirt track and pump track for your BIGGEST kids… Don’t have a bike? They have rentals too…

Even the littlest riders have tons of fun at Bike Park Maui

photos courtesy of Bike Park Maui

Go Strawberry Picking – (14) Kula Country Farms has transformed from a family-run farm to a family FUN farm, with strawberry picking (seasonally), animals, a children’s garden and mini-golf!

Kid Around – There seem to ALWAYS be baby goats at the (15) Surfing Goat Dairy, and they’ve even set up a sand-toy pit, if the kids (as in children, not baby goats) just want to dig around. Its free to enter, you just need to pay if you want to go on one of the tours.

Go on a Hunt – (16) For the island’s best Shave Ice! Make it your own family mission to sample each shave ice on island, to discover which company (and which flavor) is the absolute best! Might we suggest starting (or finishing!) with Ululani’s?

Hit the Stream – When it’s just TOO HOT, grab your suits and head on up to the (17) Iao Stream. The chilly water will cool you down instantly! Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens- established in 1952 as a showcase for Maui’s diverse heritage with ethnic houses and gardens representing the Hawaiian, Portuguese, Japanese, Caucasian and Filipino cultures – is always a fun little activity, too.

Check out the Farm – (18) The Lahaina Animal Farm is a sure winner with the animal-lovers (advanced reservations required.)

Become a Nature Tracker – Grab a bucket, some water shoes and (20) explore the tide pools!

Splash Around – When the heat of the day gets to be too much, and you don’t want to have to worry about watching the little ones at the beach or pool, just grab some suits and towels and head to the mall! (21) The Maui Mall has a great little water-play area…

Go on a Treasure Hunt – an (22) Art treasure hunt! Who needs an art museum when you have theThe Grand Wailea? Rumor has it if you ask around there’s an art ‘treasure’ hunt that you can go on…

Stay-cation/Splurge

Pretend you are a tourist- Sure, you live on Maui, but there are tons of family friendly activities that you’ve probably not done yet, so (23) treat yourself to a stay-cation and check out a submarine or helicopter ride, or check out one of the zip-line tours! Most tours have great kama’aina discounts.

Get a Hole-in-One – Does anything say SUMMER like some (24) mini-golf and bumper boats? Make a holiDAY of it – maybe even head to the aquarium (AGAIN! – Hard to beat that air-conditioning!) and there’s also the Kealia Boardwalk if the kids still need to run… and while you are in Ma’alaea dont forget about the ice-cream cookie sandwiches from Hula Cookies

Nothing Says Summer like Bumper Boats and Mini Golf!

Finish your Staycation with an Ice Cream Sandwich from Hula Cookies

View the fireworks from a boat! (25) Pacific Whale Foundation will take you out on the water to watch the Fourth of July fireworks displays!

The greatest thing about these auction items is that some of these things you CANNOT BUY! For example, if you’ve lived on Maui long enough you’ve heard ofThe Poker Game, held at Don Nelson (former NBA Coach)’s house – and not to name drop here but let’s just say some of Maui’s more famous residents, like Woody, Willie and Owen, have been known to drop in to these games. Want to get a seat at this game? There will be two available to the highest bidder at the Jamboree…

Another item that’s NOT AVAILABLE for purchase anywhere, is a Seat at the Judge’s Table for a Knife Fight at Cow Pig Bunin Kihei. From the catalog description: “You’ll have the opportunity to taste all the food (and beverages also provided) as two local chefs battle it out in the Cow Pig Bun kitchen arena. Chefs will be given a featured ingredient to use in three rounds of food as you watch from your prime viewing spot. As one of the 3 judges that evening, you will help decide who is the best chef! Other judges include food critics, chefs and culinary school instructors, so you’ll be in great company!”

Many, many island businesses have generously donated restaurant gift certificates, activities, art, jewelry and much more! A new addition to the silent auction this year are the Gift Baskets, assembled by the parents of each class (K-8) at Carden, and by some of our sponsors and donors as well! Gift basket themes include Mother’s Day, Summer Fun, and what’s sure to be a huge hit – the Trader Joe’s basket! This Mother’s Day basket (shown below – styled by RiverMoon Botanicals) includes a $75 gift certificate (in a silver frame) from Green Ti Spa in Wailuku, coffee, tea, a make-up/tote bag, a Bottle of Merlot and wine glasses, Mixing bowls, measuring cups, tart baking cups, spices, Wrappily wrapping paper, Jasmine soap and a few air plants and succulents, a floral bucket and wooden crate. Mother’s Day is coming up on May 10!

The Mother’s Day Basket – filled with goodies for mom or grandma, and styled by Rivermoon Botanicals

A gift basket of treasures from the Maui Ocean Treasures store at the aquarium! Food items plus an adorable turtle plush!

The insides of the Maui Ocean Treasures basket

The Maui Made Basket! All products designed or made ON MAUI! (except the basket) – The final basket also will include the sail bags maui tote as pictured in this gallery – dropped behind the desk and only rescued today!

Besides the auction items, another EXCLUSIVE to the Jamboree are the cocktails – created by Dazoo’s bartender Jimmy Shoemaker, two cocktails, featuring Ocean Vodka and Deep Island Hawaiian Rum (of course), were designed just for this event. These cocktails also feature Dazoo’s house made shrubs.

Jimmy Shoemaker, bartender at Dazoo, will be mixing up cocktails all night long at the Carden Jamboree! Photo by Jessica Pearl, Courtesy Ocean Vodka

Isn’t being a mom the best? Don’t you love hearing about other inspiring moms around Maui? When Cadence contacted me to see if I would be interested in a guest blog post about her new photography series about Maui moms, I jumped at the chance. So, read on for our first ever guest blog post by Cadencia Photography:

As a maui family photographer, I love capturing the potent and unique dynamic between children and their parents. This inspired me to create Tropical Moms, a series on Maui motherhood. An inspiring mom is featured every week, along with a short interview and a photography session. The posts offer an authentic glimpse into family life and raising the next generation on Maui — Tropical Moms aims to uplift, inspire, and connect mothers on island and around the world. We are always looking for mommas you admire, please nominate by emailing tropicalmoms@gmail.com.

(click on the mom’s name or the image for a link to their blog post)

“Maui is a wonderful place to live an alternative lifestyle. removed from the bustle and challenges of an urban life, I find it to be a nurturing environment to stay connected to nature and source and live a life of balance and harmony” – Annika Banko

“I always imagined raising my child/children on Maui from before I was ever ready to have them, I guess because I always felt blessed to have been raised there myself. The reasons being, the community aspect — which in a lot if places and groups has a strong bond of families and women who share and support each other and their children from prenatal to parenting…Also being surrounded by a potent energetic landscape that provides an easy access to know, love, understand and participate in nature and our planet, which is one of the most important issues a child should grow up knowing about. Maui allows that contact in an organic way that the child seamlessly evolves with.” – Callie Mahoney